My disagreement is with Meijers in Michigan. On November 18 while shopping for vitamins I decided to purchase the much higher priced ones then I would have because the sign in front of them and other vitamins clearly said buy one get the second free. With the name of the vitamins clearly stated on the sign.

My bill was large because of my Thanksgiving purchases and it wasn’t until I was home and reviewing my receipt that I discovered I was charged $19.98 for each bottle for a total of $39.96.

I returned to the store the following day and waited in line at the service desk for 10 minutes before I was taken care of. They told ME to go back to the isle where the sign was and bring it back to the counter. I couldn’t believe this. But did as told. Upon returning I found the clerk was busy with another customer and I had to wait at least another 5 minutes.

She then proceeded to give me a refund for the $19.98. I asked her about the overcharge law. She said it didn’t apply because the sale hadn’t been put into the computer. The sign did have a date on it which was within the time of my purchase.

I asked to see the manager. When she arrived a good 5 minutes later she also told me the law didn’t apply. I could see I wasn’t getting anywhere with this so I took my money and left. I live 12 miles from this store so it was a 24 mile round trip and over a hour to recover that money that the store was in error of charging me.

I’ve since gone to Meijers web sight and lodged a complaint but all they have done is tell me that the store manager will contact me. Which she did, leaving a message on my phone that she called. (Period)

Is it true as they say that the law doesn’t apply to this error on their part?

1 Comment to "Meijer Overcharges for Sale Items"

This is a common misconception, which has fooled even me and I’ve read the law dozens of times. I recently had several people write in to point out that the exceptions listed in the law apply to the store, not to the application of the law.

The store has the option of not pricing 25 classes of items, that would appear to include so-called “sale items,” however, that is listed as an exception to the law and does not affect your entitlement to a reward due to their obvious error.

It is against the law for the store to charge you more than the items was listed as being “on sale” for, the fact that they overcharged you can be used in court as prima facie evidence.

The hard part of the matter is going to be getting the store to see it your way. Several readers have been successful by printing off the entire scanner law, not just the portion the store displays as evidence and presenting it to the store manager in question. If you make yourself a big enough nuisance to the store manager, they will often make things right for you. It just depends on how important that $5.00 is to you and if it’s worth all the hassle and wasted time to make Meijer do the right thing.

It just doesn’t seem right that stores continually rip of consumers and their is little recourse. Fortunately, you do have other options. I would write a scathing letter to Meijer’s Corporate Headquarters, then take my business else where. If enough customers get fed up, Meijer will eventually figure it out for themselves.

I learned one thing through all my many years in customer service, which has served me well: The customer is always right. Because without them a store is just a building with walls that won’t be full of merchandise for very long.

Thank you for sharing your frustration. I know that sometimes just venting can help make us feel better. I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.

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The author of this site is not an attorney and does not practice law in Michigan or any other state. Any opinions expressed here are just that – opinion. If you have a legal issue, please contact an attorney for legal advice.